Google fires back at Mozilla, urges Firefox users to switch to Chrome

Mozilla’s decision to drop Google as the default search provider in Firefox last December appears to have had more of an impact than either company could have imagined. As a result, the search giant’s share of the US search market dropped to its lowest level since 2008 but it seems as though Google may get the last laugh after all.

Call it being extremely competitive or outright vindictive, but Google recently modified its search results page to promote its Chrome web browser. Such actions wouldn’t typically be newsworthy but with the move, Google is going directly after Mozilla.

When a Firefox user performs a Google search, they’ll see a huge notice above the results asking if they want to switch their default search engine to Google. There’s a blue box beneath that provides more information on how to go about the switch alongside a grey box to decline the offer.

Out of curiosity, I tried a Google search using Internet Explorer but came up empty-handed. I did, however, see a smaller notice on Google’s initial page but nothing even close to the in-your-face plea that Firefox users will see.

As previously mentioned, Mozilla announced plans to drop Google as its default search provider in Firefox late last year in favor of Yahoo. The change took place on December 1 with the launch of Firefox 34, kicking off a new five-year strategic partnership with Yahoo.